The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1887-10-21

dOlngF
In order to reach the multitude of out
| siders we must drop all technicalities out
! of our religion. When we talk to people
/ about the hypostatic union and French
| encyclopediauism, and Erastinianism,
and complutensianism, we are as impolitic
/ and little understood as if a physician
| should talk to an ordinary patient about
! the pericarnum, and intercostal muscle,
| and scorbutic symptoms. Many of us
come out of the theological seminaries so
| loaded up that we take the first ten years
to show our people how much we know,
| and the next ten years get our people to
| know as much as we know, and at the
| end find that neither of us know anything
as we ought to know. Here are hundreds
and thousands of SHINING, struggling and
/ dying people who need to realize Just one
them, and will save them now. But
we go into profound and
elaborate definitions, of what justi-
| ficaJion is, and after all the work there are
not, outside of the learned professions,
| 5000 people in the United States who can
| tell what justification is. / will read you
the definition: classification is purely
| forensic act, the act of judge sitting in
| the forum, in which the Supreme Ruler
and judge, who is accountable to none,
| and who alone knows the manner in which
! the ends of his universal government can
| best be obtained, reckons that which was
done by the substitute in the same man.
nor as if it had been done by those who
| believe in the substitute, and not on ac-
count of any thing done by them, but
! purely upon account of this gracious
method of reckoning, grants them the full
remission of their sins.'
Now, what is justification? I will tell
you what justification is-when a sinner
believes, God let's him of. One summer
in Connecticut 1 went TO a large factory,
and / saw over the door written the
| words: ''No admittance," 1 entered. and
| saw over the next door: "No admittance."
| OF course 1 entered. l got inside and
found it a pin factory, and they were
making pins, very serviceable, fine and
| useful pins.
| So the spirit of excIusiveness has prac-
| tically written over the outside door of
many a church: 'FNo admittance." And
if the stranger enters he finds practically
written over the second door: "No admit
tance," and if he goes in, over all the pew
| doors seems written: "No admittance,"
| while the minister stands in the pulpit,
hammering out his little niceties of belief,
pounding out the technicalities ofreligiOn,
| making pins. In the most practical, COM
nonsense way, and laying aside the non
essentials and the hard definitions of re-
/ lgion, go out on the God-g given mission,
| when and how they can get it.
! Comparatively little effort as yet has
been made to save that large class of per-
sons in our midst called skeptics, and he
| who goes to work here will not be
| building upon another mans foundation.
There is great mul ultitude of them. They
are afraid of US and our churches, for the
reason we don't know how to treat them.
| One of this class met Christ, and hear with
| what tenderness, and pathos, and beauty,
| and success, Christ dealt with him:
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all
| thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all
| thy mind, and with all thy strength. This is
| the first commandment, and the second is like
this namely: Thou shall love thy neighbOr as
| thyseh There is no other commandment
greater than this
And the scribe said to him:
Well, Master. thou hast said the truth, for
there is one God, and to love HIM with all ths
! heart, and all the understanding, and all the
| soul, and all the strength is more than whole
burnt offerings and sacrifices.
And when Jesus saw that he answered
discreetly, he said unto him:
Thou art not far from the kingdom of Cod.
So a skeptic was saved in one interview.
But few Christian people treat the skeptic
in that way. Instead of taking hold of
him with the gentle hand Of love, we are
| apt to take him with the iron pincers Of
! ecclesiasticism.
You would not be so rough on that man
| if you knew by what process he had lost
his faith in Christianity. 1 have known
| men skeptical from the fact that
they grew up in houses where religion
was overdone. Sunday was the most aw-
| full day of the week. They had relig-
| ion driven into them with a trip-ham-
mer. They we're surfeited with prayer
meetings. They were stuffed and chOked
with catechisms. They were often told
/ Ho
knew, because they liked to ride down hill
better than to read Bunyan's Pilgrims
| Progress. Whenever father and mother
talked of religion they drew down the
! corners of their mouth and rolled up their
| eyes. If any one thing will send boy or
! girl to perdition sooner than another that
is it. If I had had such father and
mother, fear 1 should have been an In
fidel.
Others were tripped up Of skepticism
from being grievously wrOnged by some
man who professcd to be a Christian.
They had partner in business who turned
| out to be a first-class scoundrel, though
| professed Christian Twenty years ago
| they lost all faith by what happened in an
| oil company which was formed amid the
| petroleum excitement. The company
owned no land, or if they did, there was
| no sign of oil produced; but the president
of the company was Presbyterian elder,
and the treasurer was an Episcopal Ves-
tryman, and one director was a Methodist
class-leader, and the other directors prom
inent members of Baptist and Congrega-
tional churches.
Circulars were gotten out telling what
| fabulous prospects opened before this COM
pany. Innocent men and women who had
| a little money TO invest. and that little
| their all, said: 81 don't know any thing
about this company, but so many good
| men are at the head Of It that IL must be
| excellent, and taking stock in it must be
almost as good as joining the church" 30
| they bought the stock, and perhaps re-
ceived one dividend, so as TO keep them
still, but after awhile they found that the
| company had reorganized, and had diff
ferent president and different treasurer,
4 and different directors. Other engage
ments or i'll health had caused the former
| officers of the company, with many re-
| grets, to resign. And all that the sub
scribers Of that stock had TO show for their
| Investment was beautifully ornamented
| certificate.
Sometimes that man looking over his
/ old papers comes across that certificate,
and it Is SO suggestive that he VOWS
he wants none Of the religion that
the presidents and trustees and directors
Of that oil company professed. OF course
/ their rejection Of religion on such grounds
was unphilosophical and unwise.
l am told that ono third Of the United
/ States army desert every year, and there
| are twelve thousand court martial trials ev-
/ cry year. is that any thing against the Unit
! ed States Government that swore them in?
And If soldiers Of Jesus Christ desert, is
that any thing against the Christianity
! which they swore TO support and defend7
! How do you judge Of the currency Of
/ country By B counterfeit bill2 Oh, you
must have patience with those who have
| been swindlgd by religious pretenders.
/ Live in the presence Of others a frank,
] CrsrFvNfar,